Stop Nail Biting

Why Nail Biting is Bad for You

Warning: This could get really gross. If you are a nail biter, I want you to think about this…….where were your hands just before you stuck that finger in your mouth?

There are germs under your fingernails! So every time you bite your nails, the germs enter your mouth. Think about all the germy stuff you touch throughout the day, like your baby sister’s diaper, your sweaty socks, handling raw meat, or touching restroom doorknobs, and you won’t believe the bacteria on cash money! Do you really want to ingest that mess and become sick? You could wash your hands every few minutes in hot soapy water and scrub under your nails with a nail brush, but for most nail biters, that would just be an after-thought. Too late!

Besides the germ factor, nail-biting can cause bleeding and irritation and can then increase your risk for infections in and around your nail bed. The same goes for your mouth, especially if germs get into any irritated areas of your mouth or gums.

Long-term nail biting can also result in deformed looking nails and nails that stop growing properly.

Who Bites Their Nails?

People of all ages bite their nails – both young and old, and yes, even the very rich and famous bite their nails.

Statistics show that about half of all children between the ages of 10 and 18 develop the nail biting habit at one time or another. Nail-biting most often happens when teens are going through puberty.

Young adults (18 – 22 years of age) bite their nails, and a small number of them continue on throughout their adult life. Many however, will stop by age 30.

Boys tend to bite their nails more often than girls after the age of 10. It may be a “nervous habit” or way of relieving stress, but it seems that anyone who forms this habit at a young age has a more difficult time trying to break the habit.

Some of the celebrities who bite their nails include Lisa Marie Presley, Phil Collins, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. So even though you’ve got company in your nail-biting habit, it is something you should really try hard to stop.